L.L.Bean set to open first LI location at Smith Haven Mall
A look at the Freeport, Maine, L.L. Bean store. The retailer's new Smith Haven Mall store will have a grand opening on June 23-25, 2017. Credit: AP / Robert F. Bukaty
Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean will open its first store on Long Island next week at Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove.
The 16,000-square-foot store will open on June 23 at 9 a.m. The store will feature apparel and footwear, as well as hiking, fly-fishing, kayaking, winter and camping gear. It will employ about 70 people.
The grand opening celebration will run through June 25. The three-day weekend event will include giveaways and hands-on family activities. Also, customers will be able to take photos with a large mobile version of L.L.Bean’s first and most iconic product, the L.L.Bean boot.
In November, L.L.Bean had opened a 10-foot-by-20-foot pop-up shop outside the entrance of the future store to give customers a sneak peek at the retailer’s offerings.
L.L.Bean decided to open a store on Long Island due to the proximity to natural resources and opportunities for outdoor activities, the company said.
Founded in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean, the family-owned company began as a one-room operation selling a single product, the Maine hunting shoe. The Lake Grove store will be the Freeport, Maine-based retailer’s fifth store in New York and its 31st outside Maine.
In January, then President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter to urge his followers to “Buy L.L.Bean” and support his campaign backer Linda Bean, a board member, co-owner and granddaughter of the company founder.
“Thank you to Linda Bean of L.L.Bean for your great support and courage,” Trump tweeted. “People will support you even more now. Buy L.L.Bean.”
The tweet came in response to calls for a boycott of the company over Linda Bean’s political support for Trump. The Associated Press reported that Bean gave $30,000 to a PAC supporting Trump. The company responded that Linda Bean’s views did not reflect on the company or the views of other Bean family members.
For more information about L.L.Bean’s Smith Haven Mall store and grand opening events, visit llbean.com/smithhaven.
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